I was born in Shanghai, China. After majoring in computer science at TongJi University, I gained my postgraduate degree at the University of Wollongong, Australia.

During my six years at university, computers became a significant part of my life.

I was attracted to computer security when I studied for my research degree at the University of Wollongong. The title of my thesis was “A X2BT Trusted Reputation System: A Robust Mechanism for P2P Networks.”

I joined SophosLabs as a spam analyst in 2006 and then moved into the role of virus threat researcher.

For the last year and a half I have focused on Android research, leading a team responsible for Android malware analysis.

Day-to-day I deal with various kinds of malware and spam threats, providing generic detection and contributing to engine enhancements from a technical analyst perspective. I have also led anti-spam and DLP research in the Australia Labs.

I have had the opportunity to present my research at AVAR and the Sophos Asia partner conference, and I will be presenting at this year's Virus Bulletin conference too.

During my free time, I like reading and watching movies. It's the most relaxing pastime I have. I also like surfing the net and chatting with my friends online when I’m free. For exercise I go bush walking - it's a great way to improve your stamina!

I can't live without my family, my computer and delicious food - I am good at cooking, especially Chinese food.

What future challenges or changes do i see in security in the next couple years? These three things are top of my list:

OS diversification: With the rise of mobile OS, the use of Windows OS is dropping. Companies like Sophos have to fight on several battlefronts.

Network security: As a security vendor providing services to organizations, network security plays as important a role as endpoint.

Cloud: Today, massive data is stored in the cloud so protecting it is a new challenge for us.

About the author

Maxim is a technologist and educator who works in product marketing at Sophos. He is a board member and former executive director of StopBadware. He lives outside Boston and has an unhealthy love of dessert.